1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a training device or apparatus useful for improving the pugilistic skills of a boxer or the skills of practitioners of other martial arts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years boxers have utilized punching bags and large stuffed, punching dummies as targets to improve their boxing skills. A typical, conventional punching bag has a generally pear-shaped configuration and is formed of a leather cover having an inflated rubber bladder therewithin. A conventional punching bag is about one foot in length and typically hangs from an overhead omnidirectional swivel. A punching bag is advantageous because it improves eye and hand coordination for repeated punches at the same target area. However, it does not train a boxer to improve hand and eye coordination in making rapid vertical shifts in the target area.
A punching dummy allows a boxer to vary the target area of successive punches vertically, but does little to enhance hand and eye coordination.
Various devices have been created as training aids to improve the skills of boxers and other athletes. Some of these are described in the following issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,685,495; 770,869; 4,749,185; 264,931; 5,700,229; 426,944; 318,766; and 3,785,643. However, none of these prior devices is particularly effective in improving a boxer""s skills in making repeated, accurate punches while rapidly vertically shifting the target area for successive punches.
The present invention is a device that can be used by boxers and martial arts enthusiasts for training purposes. The training device is designed to be mounted between a stationary overhead support and a base support located vertically beneath in the floor of a training area. The device may be between about five and ten feet in length. At its upper end it has a snap ring or some other catch or fastener mechanism to engage a ceiling fastener and an inextensible strap of adjustable length with an adjustment buckle or Velcro fasteners that allow the effective length of the strap to be adjusted between a few inches or as much as several feet.
The lower end of the strap terminates in a loop or eye or some other catch or coupling mechanism that may be engaged with the end of a very long bungee cord. The bungee cord may be five or more feet in length and has a coupling at its upper end to engage the adjustment strap and a coupling at its lower end to engage a floor fastener. The bungee cord is surrounded by vinyl tubing having an outer diameter of about five-eighths of an inch. Surrounding the vinyl tubing there is a cylindrical, annular sleeve of resilient foam having an outer diameter of about between about one-half and three inches. The outer surface of the foam is preferably covered with tape or some other sheath material. Also, visual indicia are marked on the outside of the sheath. This indicia may merely take the form of changes in color about every three, four, or five inches along the length of the sheath.
The resulting structure appears to an observer as a relatively thick, rope-like device having bands of different colors every few inches. A person practicing boxing or a person practicing some other form of the martial arts may utilize his or her fists or feet to jab at the different colored sections of the elongated structure. The device will yield each time is struck, but will quickly return generally to its original, upright position after each blow. Due to the resiliency of the bungee cord, the structure will waver and quiver somewhat, thus making it harder to strike each time it receives an impact. The adjustable strap can be utilized to alter the tension on the bungee cord, thus varying the extent to which the device quivers laterally. This challenges the user to maintain consistent, repeated contact with blows to the device and improves the hand-eye coordination and provides excellent training for pugilistic and martial arts endeavors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved training device, useful to boxers and other individuals involved in the martial arts, that sharpens the skills of applying impacts to a relatively small target, while making vertical shifts in applying successive blows to the target.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a boxing training device from which a boxer can tell, through tactile sensation, or lack of tactile sensation, whether or not successive blows have been accurately applied to a target while vertically shifting the target area in successive blows.
A further object of the invention is to provide a boxing target which does not wildly gyrate when struck, but which does quiver laterally and in a fore and aft direction when impacted, and thereby presents a challenging target to a boxer to successfully land successive blows on the target.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a boxing training device that is extremely effective in improving eye and hand coordination in landing successive blows on a target that quivers about a vertical axis of alignment when the target has been struck.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a boxing target that can be stored within a relatively small volume and which can be erected for use in many different locations. For example, the target of the invention does not necessarily require the availability of the gymnasium or other facility dedicated to athletic training. The boxing target of the invention may be temporarily erected in a doorway, in a garage, or in innumerable other locations that are used for other purposes at other times.
In one broad aspect the present invention may be described as a martial arts training apparatus comprising: an elongated core line no less than about five feet in length having opposing upper and lower ends and at least a portion of which is formed of an elastic material; upper and lower couplings located respectively at the upper and lower ends of the core line for securement, respectively, to upper and lower vertically separated supports to stretch the core line therebetween; and a resilient jacket located between the couplings and surrounding the core line over a distance of at least about five feet, wherein the jacket has a minimum outer width of between about one inch-half and about six inches.
In another broad aspect the invention may be considered to be a self-defense training apparatus comprising: an elongated core line at least about five feet in length and having opposing upper and lower ends, wherein at least a portion of the core line is formed of an elastic material; upper and lower couplings respectively located at the upper and lower ends of the core line for connection, respectively, to vertically spaced upper and lower stationary supports between which the core line is maintained in tension; and an elongated, resilient jacket surrounding the core line over a length of at least five feet and having an outer dimension measured transverse to the core line of between about one-half and about six inches.
In still another aspect the invention may be considered to be a boxing training target comprising: an elongated core line, at least about five feet in length and at least a portion of which is elastic, having opposing upper and lower ends; an upper coupling at the upper end of the core line for securement to a stationary, overhead support; a lower coupling at the lower end of the core line for securement to a stationary base support to maintain tension on the core line between the upper and lower couplings; and an annular, resilient jacket disposed about the core line and surrounding it throughout a length of at least about five feet, wherein the jacket has an outer diameter of between about one-half and about six inches.
The invention may be described with greater clarity and particularity by reference to the accompanying drawings.